Osman Hamdi Bey

Osman Hamdi Bey (30 December 1842 – 24 February 1910) was a prominent Ottoman Turkish administrator, intellectual, art expert, and a pioneering painter. He is considered the father of modern archaeology and museum curation in Turkey, having founded the Istanbul Archaeology Museums and the Istanbul Academy of Fine Arts (now Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University). Born in Constantinople, he studied law in Istanbul and Paris, but pursued painting under French orientalist masters Jean-Léon Gérôme and Gustave Boulanger. His career included serving as the first mayor of Kadıköy and director of the Imperial Museum. Osman Hamdi Bey championed the preservation of antiquities and conducted significant archaeological excavations in locations like Nemrut Dağı and Sidon. His paintings, often depicting Ottoman subjects with active and intellectual roles, gained international recognition and are housed in major museums worldwide. His works, such as "The Tortoise Trainer" and "Girl Reciting Qur'an," are highly valued and have set auction records.